Chitrakonda: Following unavailability of an ambulance, family members of an expectant mother Sunday were forced to carry her on a cot to a hospital only to deliver a dead baby.
The heartrending incident was reported from Bidarpakhana village under Paparmetla block in Malkangiri district. The victim was identified as Devika (name changed), wife of Arjun Khara of Bidarpakhana village. The incident spread tension in the area.
According to sources, the woman developed labour pain Friday evening. Family members alerted an ASHA worker and tried to contact an ambulance, but in vain as no one received their calls.
Left with no option, family members of the woman with the help of some villagers placed her on a cot and carried her for six kilometres to reach Badapoda panchayat. Later, the woman was shifted to Chitrakonda community health centre (CHC) in an ambulance of Border Security Force (BSF).
Though the woman delivered a baby boy, the newborn died soon after in the CHC. This spread outrage in the CHC premises as relatives and family members accused the ambulance staffs of not taking their calls.
Moreover, the lack of proper ambulance services in the remote interior places has been the reason of the rise in the number of pregnant women and newborn deaths, locals alleged.
Meanwhile, the woman had to be shifted to Malkangiri District headquarters Hospital (DHH) as her condition worsened after delivery.
PNN